Fling Stormtroopers through walls in the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

Humphrey Cheung, 14th February 2007

San Francisco (CA) - Lucasarts has announced a new game in the Star Wars saga that will let players use the force and fling people into and THROUGH walls. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed will lets players take the role of Darth Vader's apprentice as he hunts down the remaining jedi between Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith and Episode IV A New Hope.

The game will use two new technologies that will enhance how materials react when hit and how computer-controlled characters behave. Lucasarts has partnered with Pixelux Entertainment to add "Digital Molectular Matter" (DMM) technology that will infuse environment objects like wood, steel and glass with real-world properties. Those objects will shatter and bend realistically, depending on which direction they are hit and the force of the impact. This is in contrast to older games where walls break the same way, no matter how they are hit.

Game characters have generally been fairly dumb and seem to always run at you, even if you are holding a machine gun or light saber. Lucasarts will change all that with "Euphoria" technology from NaturalMotion. Characters like Stormtroopers will react realistically, violently flailing their arms when falling and instinctively protecting themselves by covering up their faces. Lucasarts promises that character movements will be fluid and unique, unlike the cookie-cutter ragdoll animations of the past.

But don't just take our word for it, Lucasarts has launched an official website for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and you can view two technical demo videos which show off the power of DMM and Euphoria. You can visit the site here.

Lucasarts plans on shipping the game in November 2007. No specific release platforms are mentioned.